Beddington and Wallington was, from 1915 to 1965, a local government district in north east
Surrey,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It formed part of the
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
suburbs, lying within the
Metropolitan Police District and the
London Passenger Transport Area
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passe ...
. In 1965 it was abolished on the creation of
Greater London.
Urban district
The urban district was created on 1 April 1915, and consisted of the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
es of
Beddington
Beddington is a suburban settlement in the London Borough of Sutton on the boundary with the London Borough of Croydon. Beddington is formed from a village of the same name which until early the 20th century still included land which became t ...
and
Wallington. The parishes had previously formed part of
Croydon Rural District
Croydon was a rural district in north east Surrey, England, United Kingdom, from 1894 to 1915. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 and replaced the Croydon Rural Sanitary District. The district surrounded the County Borough of Croyd ...
, but the rural district was broken up by an order made by
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
on 13 September 1913 and confirmed by the
Local Government Board
The Local Government Board (LGB) was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local administration in England and Wales from 1871 to 1919.
The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871 (C. 70) and took over the public health a ...
on 18 November 1914.
The neighbouring
County Borough of Croydon made an attempt to annex Beddington, but its private bill was defeated in parliament.
The urban district council was initially based at 37 Manor Road, the former offices of Wallington
Parish Council.
[ In 1929 they purchased a house on Woodcote Road, Wallington, as the site of a new town hall. The architect chosen was Robert Atkinson, and the building was formally opened on 21 September 1934.
]
Incorporation
In March 1936 the urban district council petitioned the privy council for the grant of a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
. The petition was successful, and the royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
was presented to the charter mayor, Sir Richard Meller MP by Lord Ashcombe, the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. Since 1737, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Surrey.
Lord Lieutenants of Surrey
*William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1551–1553?
*William Howar ...
at a ceremony in Beddington Park attended by 10,000 people on 15 September 1937.
Borough council
The council had a membership of twenty-eight, comprising twenty-one councillors and seven aldermen
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...
. The councillors had a three-year term, with seven retiring annually. Aldermen had a six-year term, with half being chosen by the council every three years. The council elected one its members to the office of mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
annually. Elections were suspended from 1939 to 1944 due to the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
From its first election in 1937 the borough council was under independent control. The Conservative Party, which was dominant in parliamentary politics in the area, did not contest elections in the borough, so that the nominal "independents" were generally elected by Conservative supporters. The first council election took place on 1 November 1937, and resulted in councillors being elected under the "Independent", "Ratepayers' Association" or "Residents' Association" labels. The Labour Party failed to have any councillors elected. The three groups on the council subsequently formed a single Independent bloc, and held all seats on the council until 1952. In that year there was a nationwide swing to Labour, and the party had two councillors elected, against twenty-six independent councillors and aldermen. Until 1960 there was a small Labour group on the council, never having more than three members. In that year the Independents regained all seats on the council. In the following years both Labour and a resurgent Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
were able to gain a foothold on the council. After the final elections in 1963 the strength of the parties was: Independent 20, Labour 5, Liberal 3.
Coat of arms
The borough council was granted arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
by the College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...
on 3 July 1937. Across the centre of the shield was a ''"fess embattled"'', representing the fortified walls of the reputed Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
town of Noviomagus at Woodcote. The Tudor rose
The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor rose consists o ...
s stood for Henry VIII and Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
who visited the seat of the Carew family of Beddington. The small shield or ''"inescutcheon"'' in the centre of the arms bore an aeroplane flying over a rising sun. This recorded the presence of Croydon Airport in south Beddington. The blue and gold border denoted that the district formed part of Surrey, and was derived from the arms of the de Warenne family, sometime Earls of Surrey. The crest above the shield was an armoured arm in the act of throwing down a gauntlet. This recalled that the manor of Wallington was anciently held by the Dymock family, who were Hereditary Champions of England.[C W Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953]
Abolition
The borough was abolished in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963
The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...
, with its area becoming part of the London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croy ...
in Greater London.[
]
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beddington and Wallington
Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963
History of the London Borough of Sutton
History of the London Borough of Croydon
History of local government in London (1889–1965)
Municipal boroughs of England